


A Democratic Process

by fenellaevangela



Category: Animorphs - Katherine A. Applegate
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-08
Updated: 2006-06-08
Packaged: 2017-10-17 17:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/179082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fenellaevangela/pseuds/fenellaevangela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ellimist is screwing with the Animorphs again. What a guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Democratic Process

**Author's Note:**

> Written a few years ago, for a friend who wanted to read her first Animorphs slash. Very G. Sort of cheesy.

The Ellimist stood before them, waiting for an answer. The shock had struck them dumb, and no one seemed prepared to speak first. Finally, it was Ax who broke the silence.

«It is a trick,» the Andalite stated. «The Ellimist are never so direct; do not trust him.»

This suspicion was not an unexpected reaction, from Ax. The stories that Andalites told their children painted the Ellimist as a race of schemers and con men, who were willing to trick unwary individuals for sport. But this Ellimist has helped the Animorphs in the past, and what he offered was very tempting. What prompted this offer was not obvious, but then, it was never easy to tell why the Ellimist did what he did. All the Animorphs knew was that they had been given a way out. If they wanted, if they all agreed, then the Ellimist would take the Yeerks away from Earth and make it as if they had never been there. No more invasion. No more morphing.

No more Animorphs.

“Why is it up to us?” Jake asked.

Rachel nodded. “Yeah! If you can do this, why ask our permission?”

The Ellimist simply shook his head. Vote, he told them, Or forfeit the opportunity.

Cassie was the first one to say yes. She always looked at how actions impacted Earth as a whole; she looked to the future to see how the people, the animals, and the environment would be affected. With the Yeerks gone, humanity escaped enslavement and the Earth avoided desecration. Cassie’s vote was a vote for the greater good.

Tobias was second. For him, it had been harder. Despite being trapped, as he was, in the body of a red-tailed hawk, Tobias had a happier life now than he had ever hoped of before. By saying yes, he was dooming himself to an isolated, friendless existence. His vote was a vote of personal sacrifice.

The third yes was Jake’s. He tried to consider the big picture, to weigh everyone’s predicament, but his thoughts always went back to Tom; Tom could be free; Tom could have always been free. And so Jake’s vote was a vote for his brother.

Loyally following his Prince, Ax added the fourth yes. When he had first joined the Animorphs’ fight, Ax had sworn allegiance to Jake and named him his ‘Prince;’ his leader. Now Ax echoed the yes of his Prince as any Andalite would, even despite his personal wants and needs. Ax’s vote was a vote of duty.

Rachel seemed hesitant at first. She thrived in battle, was at her best with an enemy to fight. Giving the war up was hard. When she said yes, it made her sigh in grim anticipation of a dull future. Her vote was a vote of reluctance.

Marco held back, even as everyone stared at him. He swallowed hard and closed his eyes.

“No.”

The Ellimist was gone before the word was fully formed, and the others knew that his offer was gone with him. Their chance to save Earth, and humanity, was gone. It had been their only guarantee to victory.

In a bout of annoyance – her vote had meant nothing! – Rachel rushed over and shoved Marco roughly. He stumbled backwards, tripped over a protruding root, and soon found himself on the ground. The others towered above him. They closed in. For a moment, just a moment, Marco expected to be assaulted. Instead, he was forced to face an interrogation.

“Is this some kind of sick joke?!”

Marco looked up at his accuser. “Are you insane, Rachel? We’re talking about drastic changes, here. Even I can admit that it’s no time for jokes.”

“Then why?” Jake asked. His voice was steady, but his eyes were pleading, and Marco knew that Jake was mourning Tom all over again. Choosing to ignore the loaded question altogether, Marco pushed himself up. He shoved past his friends, left them behind, pretended that he couldn’t hear them calling after him.

«Marco?»

Ax’s thought-speak. It caused Marco’s step to falter, but he didn’t turn back and he didn’t answer. He kept walking. Of the one thousand different wonders that Marco had experienced since becoming an Animorph, there was only one that he didn’t dare part with, even at the expense of the whole world. Marco’s vote was a vote of selfishness, and it was a vote for love.


End file.
